I recently had to have one of my front teeth pulled due to it being cracked and infected. My dentist put in a partial plate for the one tooth which I am very uncomfortable with. I sound funny when I talk and I am having trouble eating. Why couldn't she just have put in a permanent bridge instead?

Sue, MD

Dr. Hair: I am terribly sorry to hear of your difficulties following the removal of your front tooth.  Many times, when a front tooth has to be removed, we will place single tooth partial (or flipper) for the time while the extraction site heals.

The options for replacing a missing tooth, other than a removable partial, include a fixed bridge (as you indicated) or an implant.

Oftentimes when we replace the tooth with an implant, we are able to do that at the time of the extraction.  However, you may still have the flipper until the extraction site heals with the implant in place.  When the implant site is healed, and the tooth portion is connected to the implant, the flipper is no longer needed.  It is as though you have grown a new tooth.

If we are replacing the missing tooth with a fixed bridge as you suggested, we want to wait for the extraction site to heal completely before we place that fixed bridge.  If we place the fixed bridge before the extraction site heals completely, the tissue may shrink away from the fixed bridge and ruin the illusion provided by the fixed bridge: the illusion of having all of your front teeth .  Placing some bone grafting material in the extraction site when you remove a tooth helps the site heal faster, and helps the site retain the contours that aid in the illusion provided by the bridge.  You would need to wear the flipper during this time of healing as well.